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Carl Gustav m/45

At the end of 1944, Gunnar Johnsson, an engineer at Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori designed the Kulsprutepistol m/45, sometimes known as the ‘Swedish K’. During World War Two neutral Sweden equipped their military with the Husqvarna m/37/39, a licensed copy of the Finnish Suomi submachine guns. By 1944 Sweden was seeking a new submachine gun which could be produced cheaply and efficiently. The Carl Gustaf factory developed the m/45 while Husqvarna offered a similar submachine gun, the FM44 (later Hovea M49). Unsurprisingly the Swedish Army selected the m/45 made by the state-owned Carl Gustaf factory.  

Final development and initial production of the m/45 began just after the end of the war. Initially the m/45 had a removeable magazine housing allowing it to use the m/37-39′s 50-round quad-stack magazines. These proved unreliable and Carl Gustav developed a new 36-round double stack, single feed magazine in 1948. Contemporary submachine guns such as the STEN and PPSh-41 influenced the m/45’s design. Johnsson aimed to utilise the same simple but effective production methods which had allowed the Allies to make millions of guns during the war.

Chambered in 9x19mm the m/45 used a conventional blowback action inside a steel tube receiver. The m/45 had no safety mechanism but the charging handle could be hooked into a safety cutout in the receiver. The m/45 had 100m and 200m flip-up sights. The m/45 weighed 7.4lb unloaded and its side-folding wire stock reduced the weapon’s length to 21.7 inches (55cm).  

image

Diagram showing the m/45′s internals (source)

When the Swedish Army replaced the 50-round magazines Carl Gustav developed a new model with a fixed magazine housing which took only the new 36-round magazines. This second new model, designated the m/45B, also had smaller barrel shroud holes and a stronger buffer. The original models without added magazine housings are rare as almost all of the original models were refitted to take the new magazines.

The m/45C had a bayonet attachment on its barrel shroud, the Irish Defence Forces and the Swedish army adopted this version. Interestingly, the Swedes often used a m/45C fitted with a bayonet for ceremonial purposes. A select-fire variant, the m/45D was also developed for police use.    

While the m/45 could use standard 9x19mm ammunition the Swedish military also developed a lead core, steel jacketed, brass covered ‘penetrating’ round, designated the m/39B, for use with the m/45. The downside to this is that the rate of barrel wear increased.  

The m/45 became extremely popular with US Special Forces in Vietnam with both the Navy Seals, the CIA and numerous special forces taking a liking to the weapon’s robust design, reliable magazine and its ability to fire immediately after being submerged in water. The fact that it was not an American-made firearm also made it a desirable weapon for clandestine work. There are also examples of the m/45 fitted with integral suppressors.

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Irish Troops departing to join the UN mission in the Congo, they’re armed with Rifle No.4s, Bren guns and the NCOs have M45s (source)

The m/45 was widely used not only by the Swedish military but also by the Estonian Navy, the Irish Defence Forces and in limited numbers by US troops in Vietnam. Both Algeria and Egypt produced licensed versions of the m/45 with the Egyptian ‘Port Said’ and ‘Akaba’ submachine guns, made by Maadi Factories, seeing action during the Suez Crisis in 1956, the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur war in 1973. The Irish and Swedish troops attached to the UN mission to the Congo during the early 1960s also made extensive use of m/45s (see image #7).  

In 1966, Sweden placed an arms embargo on the US, disagreeing with America’s intervention in Vietnam, and ceased the export of the m/45. Seeing an opportunity Smith & Wesson began producing the M76, a direct clone of the m/45, in 1967. The M76 made several changes to the receiver pushing the pistol grip and trigger group forward and adding a safety switch instead of a bolt safety slot. The Swedish Army retired the m/45 from service in 2007, however, it may still be in limited use with the Swedish Home Guard (Hemvärnet).

The m/45 was part of a generation of utilitarian submachine guns which emerged at the beginning of the Cold War. While not the most attractive or ergonomic submachine gun the m/45 proved to be a rugged and reliable weapon - one of the best of its generation.

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The Submachine Guns of Sweden, gotavapen.se, O. Janson, (source)

Submachine Gun, M. Popenker & A. G. Williams, (2011)

Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, I.V. Hogg & J. Weeks, (1985)


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History Military History Carl Gustav M45 Swedish K Submachine Gun Firearms History Carl Gustav Swedish Army Irish Defence Forces Congo Crisis Six Day War Smith & Wesson M76 SMG gunblr Gunnar Johnsson Husqvarna FM44 Hovea M49 Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori Husqvarna m/37/39 Suomi submachine gun firearms small arms Suez Crisis Yom Kippur War Port Said SMG
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It’s the third 1k request, butt stuff with some OCs – in this case, Cat bobbing for Apples. There was.. a slightly more explicitly booty-related detail before, but I wasn’t sure if it looked good, so I only got to imply it. Well, a butt’s a butt.

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